Video: Layer management

In Adobe Photoshop CS5, there are quite a few things I want to point out in layer management. For example, one thing that's been added is the possibility to add more layer groups inside of each other. The limit previously was five. Now, we can simply add layer groups. Up to ten group groups. Let's pull it out to them all. But I can really nest my layers now, and organize my work really, really precisely if that is ever needed.

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Layer management

In Adobe Photoshop CS5, there are quite a few things I want to point out in layer management. For example, one thing that's been added is the possibility to add more layer groups inside of each other. The limit previously was five. Now, we can simply add layer groups. Up to ten group groups. Let's pull it out to them all. But I can really nest my layers now, and organize my work really, really precisely if that is ever needed.

Okay so, we went from five layer groups to ten lay groups that can be contained in top structure. Okay let's get rid of this because there's some other things that I want to show you, and to do that I will add some text here and write San Francisco for example. Cisco, okay, and then I will duplicate that type layer and make another one. Let's move that over here, and change the text to Golden Gate.

Perfect. In Photoshop CS5 you can now select multiple layers and change the opacity of them. This was something that previously I had to do separately. I had to choose one layer first, change the opacity then go to the other layer and change the opacity. Now I can change multiple layers and change the opacity to them. Let's move the opacity back to 100% and go back to that text. Because another thing that is very, very useful is the ability to now set default values for each effect in the layer style dialog.

So let's add an effect to this first piece of type here. Let's say drop shadow and this drop shadow has been added and this is a default that I made previously but maybe my new default It should be a little bit lighter and I want that default to be used on other parts of this image as well. So I can now modify the distance maybe a little bit and the spread of the shadow and maybe the size of it. Okay, something like that so it looks more like a shadow. Actually, let's move a distance back here, okay? Then I can press this new button.

Make Default. And once this pressed, any time I reuse that effect on other elements on that document, this same effect will now be applied immediatly. Okay so you can set now, your own defaults inside of the layer styles. Another interesting thing is that from the desktop, or the explorer, or mini bridge, or bridge, you can now drag and drop other images on top of that image. Instead of having to open it, select all, copy and paste it on that image. I can now simply drag an image, let's drag this one for example. And let it go here, on top of that image.

As soon as I committ to that, by hitting the enter key, this object will become a smart object, inside of that same document. Another interesting feature is the fact that now, and let's delete this, that now I can select things, let's select this for example. Select all, copy, and go back to another image here. I can now go into edit, past special, past in place, and it will remember the coordinates off that object that I've just copied and past it exactly where it was on the other image. I can also say Edit, page special, into or outside. So if I make a selection, so let's say I make a selection here, okay I can say edit, page special paste into, and that text will not be pasted onto the center of that selection.

Or I can also choose Paste outside of. So let's try that. Let's make a smaller selection here, and under Edit I will go to Paste special, Paste outside. And what this effectively does, it pastes the text, but outside of that selection. Basically creating a layer mask that will just hide everything that was inside that selection, okay? So these are pretty cool new features as well, the paste special. So remember that in Photoshop CS 5, now you have deeper layer set nesting, so it can go up to ten sublayers. You can adjust the opasity and fill of multiple layers at once. And you can even set default values of all the effects and layer styles dialogue.

You can also drag and drop files from the desktop or bridge or mini bride onto an open image. To avoid the necessity of opening the image, copying it and pasting it onto another one. And lastly, that new edit, paste in place, which is very useful to paste elements at exactly the same position on other images.

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